Also known as visceral fat, hard belly fat is more harmful then soft belly fat. A high concentration of visceral fat can increase your chance of developing chronic diseases. Because visceral fat is deposited between the internal organs, it packs the organs tightly, leaving no room to move.
Hard fat raises LDL cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Soft fat can lower LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Exercise increases hard fat, improving metabolism and calorie burning.
When excess visceral fat is burned, the body then begins tackling excess subcutaneous fat. Unfortunately, subcutaneous fat is harder to lose. Subcutaneous fat is more visible, but it takes more effort to lose because of the function it serves in your body.
Excess belly fat is unhealthy but when your belly fat is hard, it's even worse. If your belly fat is hard to touch, it can be a sign that you are at an increased risk of serious illnesses, including heart disease and diabetes. Also, having a hard belly is worse than smoking or having high cholesterol.
While a hard, protruding beer belly is caused by the buildup of visceral fat, a soft belly is caused by subcutaneous fat, which is located close to the skin's surface. If you have subcutaneous belly fat, your belly feels jiggly and softer to the touch.
Yes, fat does get softer as you lose weight. As you reduce your body fat percentage and burn calories through exercise, the fat cells in your body shrink in size. This makes them less rigid and more compliant with the underlying muscle tissue, resulting in a reduction of overall body fat.
Choose foods with “good” unsaturated fats, limit foods high in saturated fat, and avoid “bad” trans fat. “Good” unsaturated fats — Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — lower disease risk. Foods high in good fats include vegetable oils (such as olive, canola, sunflower, soy, and corn), nuts, seeds, and fish.
As per a study, almost 90 percent of body fat in most people is soft and the remaining 10 percent if hard fat. This type of fat is located just below your skin and keeps you warm and is a source of energy for your body. They are not as harmful as hard belly fat and are considerably easy to lose.
In most people, about 90% of body fat is subcutaneous, the kind that lies in a layer just beneath the skin. If you poke your belly, the fat that feels soft is subcutaneous fat. The remaining 10% — called visceral or intra-abdominal fat — lies out of reach, beneath the firm abdominal wall.
People with lots of subcutaneous fat often also have lots of visceral fat. Both types of fat can be difficult to lose. Some factors that make fat hard to lose include: Insulin resistance : Visceral fat is correlated with insulin resistance, which can make it hard to lose both visceral and subcutaneous fat.
One reason belly fat is so hard to lose is that it's considered an “active fat.” Unlike some fatty tissue that simply sits “dormant,” belly fat releases hormones that can have an impact on your health — and your ability to lose weight, especially in the waist and abdomen areas.
Mostly, losing weight is an internal process. You will first lose hard fat that surrounds your organs like liver, kidneys and then you will start to lose soft fat like waistline and thigh fat. The fat loss from around the organs makes you leaner and stronger.
Because visceral fat is deposited between the internal organs, it packs the organs tightly, leaving no room to move. This make your belly feel hard when you press it.
Too many starchy carbohydrates and bad fats are a recipe for that midsection to expand. Instead, get plenty of veggies, choose lean proteins, and stay away from fats from red meats. Choose healthier fats in things like fish, nuts, and avocados. Even a moderate cutback on carbs (grains, pasta, sugars) can help, too.
Common reasons for someone to have belly fat even when they're skinny is: Being too sedentary (inactive), which builds visceral fat around the organs and abdominal fat. Eating too many processed foods, which stores at the belly.
Visceral fat is actually easier to lose than subcutaneous fat. This is because it metabolizes quicker and your body can get rid of it as sweat or pee. If you start regularly exercising and eating a healthy diet, you should start to see results in two to three months.
As against areas such as legs, face and arms, our stomach and abdominal regions possess beta cells that makes it difficult to reduce the fats easily and lose weight in these areas. However, as per research, belly fat is the most difficult to lose as the fat there is so much harder to break down.
The amount of time it takes to lose belly fat varies from person to person. However, training harder and reducing your calorie intake to achieve a daily calorie deficit of 500 calories will lead to a weight loss of around 12 pounds within 12 weeks. This will likely also result in belly fat loss.
Losing stubborn belly fat is often one of the hardest and last areas to see improvement for many dieters. Losing belly fat and getting a flat stomach is done through achieving a caloric deficit by eating less, exercising more, and doing that for at least 6-12 weeks.
Eating good fats in place of saturated fat can also help prevent insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. (16) So while saturated fat may not be as harmful as once thought, evidence clearly shows that unsaturated fat remains the healthiest type of fat.
For people aged 20 to 39, women should aim for 21% to 32% of body fat. Men should have 8% to 19%. For people 40 to 59, women should fall between 23% to 33% and men should fall around 11% to 21%. If you're aged 60 to 79, women should have 24% to 35% body fat and men should have 13% to 24%.
Monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat are 'healthy' fats. They can help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a fatty substance in your blood. Saturated fat and trans fat are 'unhealthy' fats.